Good skin

One of my students, an older man (45y/o?) named Chako, was asked to make a sentence using one of the words written on the board that started with the letter S. Out of all 15 words, and all possible combinations of sentences, Chako came up with "Christina's skin is good." So I responded jokingly, "Thanks! Your skin is good too!" He said "No, no. Black skin is bad. Your skin is good."

Later in class, he asked to marry me. I'll let you all make your own interpretations about this one.

Hiking the Uluguru Mountains

This weekend I couldn't pass up the opportunity to go hiking in the Uluguru Mountains. Unfortunately, my horrible pronunciation paired with a terrible attempt at the Tanzanian accent left me calling them the "Uluguluglu Mountains" but people definitely still knew what I was talking about.

This place was so beautiful. I didn't even realize how massive the mountains were just looking at them. But I figured it out as soon as we started hiking... 

Oh man. I hardly made it to the top. Definitely worth it though. That's the city of Morogoro wayyy down below.

I was struggling with these mountains, just for recreation. Most people who live out here have farms on the steep mountain faces. Can you imagine??

I went with a great group of people, including my friend Neil, and a bunch of his friends who I just met on the trip (Chrissy, Ryan, and our Lithuanian friend Vithas). We all had such a great time, and managed to make it through nearly 9 hours of hiking! 

A Maasai guide joined us for the hike. He works with this organization that provides tours through the mountains and uses a chunk of the tour fees for improving the quality of life for local communities. We passed over a bridge that they built to help the mountain people get to the only hospital in the area, so that was pretty cool. It was nice to hear the history of this area and some cultural tidbits about the villages we were walking through. 

I'm really glad our guide was there to help us out. There's no way I would've ever found my way up to our destination, which was called Morningside. 

I'm not really sure why this was our destination, but it was a nice place to chill out for a few minutes and enjoy the view. 

We passed by the first church built in this area called Morogoro. The Germans built it here in 1913. They still hold services here, though there aren't many people who practice. 90% of the villagers up on the mountain are Muslims. 

I was freaking out at the thought of spiders on this hike, though we didn't come across any. It rained the day before, so I guess that means we're less likely to come across spiders. Our guide said there's one bad spider in this area, but it doesn't like the rain, so we don't have to worry. Just to let you know, this 'bad spider' is actually called the "Bull Spider" because it grows to about the size of your palm and has HORNS! A spider with horns.... was he kidding?! That sounds atrocious. 

We came across some really cool bugs along the way. The butterflies were beautiful, but my favorite colorful bugs were these big grasshoppers. 

Not sure if the photo really captures the size of these things. They were about the length and thickness of my thumb. Apparently it's grasshopper season, so they were all over the place, jumping around, jumping on my clothes, jumping off the cliffs... nbd. 

Then we came to my favorite bug, only because I recognized them from Discovery Channel or Animal Planet or something. Siafu is the local name for the Driver Ant. These things are awful. They travel in colonies with millions upon millions of ants. They ravage anything in their course. Their bite is supposedly horribly painful and they have been known to devour anything from small rodents to babies and even goats.  This was so cool! Until my guide said casually, "oh hey, Christina, there's one on your pants!"

Don't worry, I survived.

On the way down, we stopped by a waterfall. It was so beautiful.

I'll only include this last picture so you can get a good laugh at my horrendous farmer's tan. This is the first time my shoulders have been exposed in Tanzania!

Mzungu, I love you!

"How are you?"
"Fine."
"I LOVE YOU!!

This is probably the most common conversation I ever have with strangers as I quickly walk past them. I get a good laugh out of it every single time. In Swahili, there's no distinction between like and love, so if someone is trying to say they like you or just want to talk to you, it comes out as true love. It's doing great things for my ego.

So many projects!

Busy busy busy...

This year I was selected to represent Rotaract as the Director of Community Service for the Rotaract Club of Kwanza. This would be significantly easier if I was more accustomed to the way things work here in Tanzania. For example, nothing can be accomplished unless you are physically present to oversee something. Phone calls? Emails? No way. Hop on a bus and talk to someone in person before they believe you're legit. Needless to say, getting things done takes a lot more time and effort than I'm used to. It's nice that you get a much more personal experience with partners though.

There are a few major projects that I'll be responsible for this year. The first is my absolute favorite--the Mwenge Teaching Project. Every evening (mon-fri) I go to Mwenge to teach English to a group of mostly woodcarvers. Lately I've been working with the reading and writing group. Their ability to speak English is varied, but some cannot even recognize the letter A. Every day we've been going over a different letter, writing it over and over, and learning new words that start with each letter. By the end of class, each student makes a sentence with one of the new words they have learned. If anyone has suggestions on how to teach adult students to read and write, I'd love to hear them! Please!! They all love the class, but I'm not sure how to give them the best education possible. A few improvements for the class from Rotaract will be additional teachers, sustainable lighting (because the power is cut for rationing every other day), books, notebooks, chalk, and consultation from a University professor on how to improve our teaching methods. I'll be responsible for the budget and figuring out how to allocate some money that has been set aside. ugh. Budgets are the worst. But I love my students. They have become my best friends here.

The second program is to visit three orphanages around Dar es Salaam. Playing with the kids is fantastic, and they get so excited to have visitors. A large part of this program is also to raise funds for supplies. With every visit, we deliver boxes full of books, notebooks, pens, medical supplies, and biscuits, so there is a ton of prep work before we get to the fun stuff.

The biggest project I'll be working on with Rotaract this year has already started--the Blood Donation Project. We are hoping for a huge turnout. Statistics show that though the need for blood in hospitals is extremely high, only about 24% of the needed amount is donated. This leaves people in a fight for blood when they are sick or injured. From what I've heard, the system for receiving blood is not need-based, but entirely dependent on bribing the authorities. Since 2007, the Rotaract Clubs of Dar es Salaam have been trying to even the playing field by hosting the largest Blood Drive in Tanzania. This year, it will be bigger and better than ever! We are expanding to five locations throughout the city for a three day program filled with blood, blood, and more blood. It just so happens that this event kicks off on the greatest day of the year (if you remember from my last post). That's right, my birthday! So instead of presents this year, I'm asking all my friends for their blood! Nothing weird about that statement.

This project is going to be HUGE! We have already started approaching the biggest companies in Tanzania for sponsorships because our budget is about $18,000. My biggest concern is that people in Tanzania are extremely hesitant to give blood. It's not something that is taught as a positive experience, so they are all afraid, don't understand, or think it is going to be sold to the wrong people and not given to those in need. So we are luring them in with a free tshirt, water, soda, and biscuits. I hope this works!

To put your mind at ease about the corruption, I can assure you that all the blood collected by Rotaract is going to the right place. It will be donated specifically to the Ocean Road Cancer Institute's Children's Cancer Ward. We know a doctor who is going to manage the distribution personally.

I'm really excited for all these projects. You're probably all thinking "Whatever, Christina, you get excited about everything..." But this time is different. I know there will be a ton of frustrations, small failures, and struggles along the way, but I think ultimately they will all be meaningful in the community. I'm glad to be a part of them. But mostly nervous, because it's all up to me. Director of Community Service?? So much pressure!

Birthdays

I was helping one of the guys from my English class set up an email account this week. He's eager to keep in touch with former teachers but doesn't have any idea how to do it. One of the required fields is to enter your birthday. This was the toughest question on the page for my dear friend, Elias. He couldn't remember his birthday! Actually, it seemed like the problem was that no one had ever told him when his birthday was. He had never celebrated with cake, songs, or a party. The weirder part of the conversation came about when Elias admitted that he wasn't even sure what year he was born or how old he is (though he doesn't look a day over 14). I was determined to get to the bottom of this mystery.

I told him he had to call his mother. Because Elias is the oldest of like 6 kids, I wasn't too sure that his mother would even remember.
Problem #1--no cell phone.
Problem #2--no money for phone credit.
Problem #3 (after I lent him my phone with credit)--he doesn't know his mother's phone number!
Problem #4 (after bringing her number 2 days later)--her line didn't work!! probably due to a lack of power in her village for a few days.

Finally we solved the mystery almost a week later. Though Elias thought he was only 18 or 19 years old, his birthday is March 10, 1990. So glad we figured it out, otherwise he would've had to share cake with me on the greatest day of the year--December 2!

Many people in Tanzania have an idea of approximately how old they are, and some know their birthdays, but it's not a big deal here. They only recently started eating cake (American influence, obviously) and they'll receive presents/contributions if they throw a party. Otherwise, it's just another day.


Although birthdays don't really matter in Tanzania, I can't ignore this wonderful day that a very special lady is celebrating in America.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!

I think this is the first of your birthdays in about 22 years that I won't be able to celebrate with you. Promise I'll be there in spirit. I hope you have a wonderful day! (I updated my blog just for you!!)
Love you!

Ferry Accident

I guess something from Tanzania made global headlines today, so I want everyone to know that I'm alright. But there are over 600 people who were not so lucky. Most are still missing... many are washing up on shore or being recovered from fishing boats. This is one of the biggest tragedies Tanzania has had in recent history.

An evening ferry was traveling from Zanzibar to Pemba Island, about 40km offshore in the Indian Ocean. The ferry was carrying cargo and several hundreds of people. So far, reports are saying that the ship was completely overcrowded, so much so that some people refused to board or hopped off last minute because it seemed so unsafe.

I'll be the first to admit that Tanzanian laws aren't always followed. If you've ever heard me talk about the way they squish people into dala dalas like sardines, then it should be no surprise that the same practices are carried out in taxis, bajajs, pick-up trucks, and also ferries.

In my experience, traveling to and from Zanzibar, they always allow more people than seating capacity allows. About half the passengers are sprawled out on the outer decks because there is never enough room for all of them. Unless you pay for first class, it's a mad rush to get on the ferry because everyone knows there's a good chance they'll be stuck outside for hours if they're too slow--rain or shine, rocky waves or calm seas--even when the sun is beating down on a 100+ degree day.

This particular instance is far worse than anything I have seen before. I sincerely hope it serves as a wake-up call to all those who allow such unsafe practices to continue. This is a major tragedy for Tanzania. So far over 100 have been found dead, and it is thought that hundreds are still missing in the water. 

Pants

Every time I come into the office wearing pants, people tell me I look "smart." All the other people working in the office get really excited and tell me how great I look, because I'm wearing pants (as opposed to a skirt). There's one woman in particular who jumps up and hugs me because I look so nice... weird... but it's kinda cute.

Today she told me I look so nice because I'm wearing pants. She would love to wear pants but she's too scared. When I asked why she's afraid of pants, she said, "Well, that's what a man wears! I wouldn't want anyone to think I'm a man!

Conclusion: I look smart today because I can be mistaken for a man.